Annals: Year 28

A Dustsong story fragment, a publishing update, and recommended reading

From the Annals of the Vaporous Realms

A band of Wind Hunter pilgrims, beset by dust-storms, became separated from their clan-folk. Through clouds of sandy vapor, two Wind Trackers among their number glimpsed a star in the dome above, which they perceived to be a beacon of the unseen realm. By following this light, they escaped the onslaught of storms and were preserved. That same night, both Trackers dreamt of a coming chief of chiefs, from the threshhold of the heavenly kingdom. The pilgrims, calling themselves the Desert Stars, elected to wander henceforth with an eye to the heavens instead of an ear to the winds.

Year 27

Codex: Desert Stars

The Desert Stars were a desert-folk clan of the wandering wastes, originating as an offshoot of the Wind Hunters.

Last among the desert-folk to ally themselves to Len Ghremson, they were one of three lesser clans that claimed space in the eastern quarter of Danoh-town. By the end of the first epoch, their descendants had migrated west of the city and numbered among the knoll-folk.

Author Note

Thank you all, so much, for staying subscribed and for taking the time to read my little snippets and updates when you’re able. It’s taken me a lot longer than some folks to pass the hundred-subscriber mark, but I appreciate y’all a great deal. I’m keeping my sights set on finishing the new Len novella by year’s end, amid persistent editorial busyness and the onset of the sick season.

This month is also my truncated fall event season, which poses its own challenges. I know “it used to be better” is an old refrain of the comic con and craft fair circuits, but based on what I’ve experienced the past year and a half, I believe it, at least for small and mid-sized events. We’re keeping a tight rein on our finances, too, so I get that most folks’ impulse spending habits have changed. But I’m not keen on devoting my life to making books and tabletop games for an ever-shrinking pool of interested folks with substantial discretionary income, or on my livelihood being entirely internet-based. As I recommit time to the creative and retail sides of things, affordability is near the forefront of my strategizing.

Practical musings aside, here’s a non-exhaustive list of recommendations from my past several weeks on Substack:

1. The Man Behind the Screen’s The Jarl’s Son—having reached its intense climax and fitting finale

2. Nick Thurston’s The Isles of Esgarona—vividly depicted, approachable, and intriguing

3. A. K. Preston’s The Tombs of Elysium—eerie, horror-tinged military science fiction, with moral substance

4. Bill Hiatt’s The Story of Creation as Told to Musaeus by Dionysus—clever and entertaining

5. Joe’s (of the Brother’s Krynn) Brotherhood of the Gemstone—sprawling adventure for those ready to immerse themselves in a grand mythic narrative

6. Patrick Lawrence’s “Power as Burden, Not a Privilege”—an incisive commentary on morality and heroism in The Lord of the Rings

7. With a special mention of GMaia’s newly released, seasonally inspired tabletop adventure, “Promenade Macabre.” (And a Yuletide module, for which I got to preview an early draft, is on the horizon!)

Happy reading, y’all!